Surface treatment system and method

ABSTRACT

A surface treatment system is disclosed to form a deposition layer at a surface of an object of surface treatment by using a deposition reaction in which an electrode ( 110 ) for applying power to form a deposition reaction in the deposition chamber ( 100 ) is installed between an inner wall ( 120 ) of the deposition chamber ( 100 ) and an object of surface treatment ( 900 ) and further includes a cooling unit ( 200 ) installed at the inner wall ( 120 ) of the deposition chamber ( 100 ) facing the electrode ( 110 ) and cooling ambient thereof.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a surface treatment system and methodand, more particularly, to a surface treatment system and method forforming a deposition layer on a surface of an object using a depositionreaction.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, a surface treatment is to make a surface of a product madeof a material such as a metal look good, or to improve the surface toachieve heat resistance, corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance, etc.so that the function of the product can be improved according to thecondition of usage of the product. That is, the surface treatmentconceals inner defects, etc. by properly treating a surface of themetal.

The surface treatment includes plating on a surface of accessory,chromium plating on brass, or a tinplating for an iron sheet, etc.

The surface treatment methods include alumite for protecting the insideof an object by surface treatment by providing an oxide layer, ananticorrosive paint coating, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reaction,or a physical vapor deposition (PVD) reaction.

A heat exchanger used in an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a heatingapparatus, etc. is a device for transferring heat from a fluid of hightemperature to a fluid of low temperature through a heat transfer wall.At this time, the flow of the fluid becomes different according to acharacteristic of a surface of the heat transfer wall, and thecharacteristics of the surface of the heat transfer wall greatlyinfluence the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger.

Accordingly, a radiator surface of a heat exchanger is required to havea surface treatment with various characteristics according to theperformance of the heat exchanger. To this end, fins of the heatexchanger are fabricated by processing a sheet having a treated surfaceto improve hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, or corrosion resistance.

Also, the sheet for processing the fins of the exchanger has a surfacetreatment that forms a deposition layer at the surface of the sheet byusing a chemical vapor deposition reaction or a physical vapordeposition reaction.

In the meantime, for the surface treatment, a reaction gas is injectedin a deposition chamber and then power is applied thereto for producinga deposition reaction. A method for applying power includes a method forapplying power to the object of surface treatment for the depositionreaction.

In the conventional surface treatment method represented in PCTPublication No. WO9927157, power is directly applied to the object to besurface treated, in a polymerization chamber injected by reaction gas tocause a plasma polymerization reaction, thereby forming a depositionlayer at a surface of the object of surface treatment.

The deposition layer formed at the surface of the surface-processedproduct differs depending on chemical compositions, but the depositionlayer forming process also has a great influence on the quality of thedeposition layer formed at the surface of the product. The qualitydiffers depending on the composition of gas for the deposition reaction,configuration of the deposition chamber or the like.

Consequently, a surface treatment system is needed to form asatisfactory deposition layer on the surface of an object to be surfacetreated.

In addition, a surface treatment system is needed to effectively processthe surface of a product in line with mass surface processing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a surfacetreatment system that is capable of allowing a deposition reaction totake place only in a deposition space where a deposition layer is formedat the surface of the object to be surface treated and capable ofreducing the size of a deposition chamber by additionally installing acooling unit to cool the ambient in the deposition chamber.

To achieve these objects, there is provided a surface treatment systemfor forming a deposition layer at a surface of an object by using adeposition reaction in which an electrode for applying power to form adeposition reaction in the deposition chamber is installed between aninner wall of the deposition chamber and the object of surfacetreatment, including: a cooling unit installed at the inner wall of thedeposition chamber facing the electrode and cooling the ambientenvironment.

To achieve the above object, there is also provided a surface treatmentsystem in which gas for a deposition reaction is injected into adeposition chamber and power is applied to form a deposition reaction toform a deposition layer at a surface of an object, including: a gasinjection unit installed at both sides of the deposition chamber,through which gas for the deposition reaction is injected into adeposition space; a gas discharge unit disposed at the center of thedeposition chamber to divide the deposition space into two areas anddischarging the deposition reaction-finished gas outwardly of thedeposition chamber; a plurality of electrodes installed with adeposition space therebetween and applying power to the depositionchamber; and a cooling unit installed at both sides of the depositionchamber for cooling the ambient environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings,which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitativeof the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view showing a surface treatment system inaccordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a cooling plate unit of the surfacetreatment system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view showing a surface treatment system inaccordance with the second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a cooling plate unit of the surfacetreatment system in accordance with the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A surface treatment system and a surface treatment method in accordancewith the present invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

Elements other than those requisite for constituting the surfacetreatment system of the present invention are omitted in thespecification and drawings for the simplicity purpose.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view showing a surface treatment system inaccordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2is a plan view showing a cooling plate unit of the surface treatmentsystem in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the surface treatment system in accordancewith the first embodiment of the present invention forms a depositionlayer at the surface of an object to be surface treated 900 by using adeposition reaction, in which electrodes 110 for applying power toproduce a deposition reaction in a deposition chamber 100 are installedbetween inner walls 120 and the object of surface treatment 900,including a cooling unit 200 installed at the inner wall 120 of thedeposition chamber 100 facing the electrodes 110 and cooling the ambientenvironment.

The deposition reaction for the surface processing includes a chemicalvapor deposition (CVD) reaction, a physical vapor deposition (PVD)reaction, or the like, and especially, the first embodiment of thepresent invention adopts the plasma deposition reaction as disclosed inPCT publication No. WO9927156, which is one of the conventional surfacetreatment methods.

Namely, in the surface treatment system in accordance with the firstembodiment of the present invention, gas for the deposition reaction isinjected into the deposition chamber, to which power is applied toproduce the plasma deposition reaction, that is, the depositionreaction, to form a deposition layer at the surface of the object to besurface treated.

However, the deposition reaction in the first embodiment of the presentinvention can be adoptable to a surface treatment system, regardless oftypes of deposition reaction, in which a gas for the deposition reactionis injected into the deposition chamber, to which power is applied toform a deposition reaction to form a deposition layer at the surface ofthe object to be surface treated.

The gas injected into the deposition chamber 100 allows a desireddeposition layer to be formed at the object of surface treatment 900,and as the power source, a radio frequency (RF) power source or a DCpower source can be used. In addition, power may be applied to theobject to be surface treated according to the deposition reaction. Inparticular, in case of DC power as the power source, the object ofsurface treatment may be one of the electrodes with a power applyingdevice (not shown).

As the cooling unit 200, various cooling systems can be adopted, and inthis respect, a water-cooling system is adopted in the first embodimentof the present invention.

That is, the cooling unit 200 includes a cooling plate unit 210installed at the inner wall 120 of the deposition chamber 100; aheat-releasing unit 220 for releasing heat generated in the depositionchamber 100, and passages 230 a and 230 b for connecting the coolingplate unit 210 and the heat-releasing unit 220.

The cooling plate unit 210 includes a refrigerant passage 211 formed tolet refrigerant, i.e. water to flow therein, a refrigerant inlet 212 forintroducing the refrigerant into the refrigerant passage 211, and arefrigerant outlet 213 for discharging the refrigerant from therefrigerant passage 211.

The cooling plate unit 210, formed in a platy shape, can be separatelyinstalled inside the deposition chamber 100 or can be formed integrallywith the inner wall 120 of the deposition chamber 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling plate unit 210 includes a plurality ofslots 214. The slots 214 may have a gas injection unit 300 with gasinjection holes 310 therein.

The refrigerant inlet 212 and the refrigerant outlet 213 are connectedby the heat-releasing unit 220 for releasing heat generated from thedeposition chamber 100 and the passages 230 a and 230 b.

There are provided one or more electrodes 110, which are fixedlyinstalled at the inner wall 120 or at the cooling plate unit 210 of thedeposition chamber 100 by means of an engaging unit (not shown). Aninsulation member 111 is interposed between the electrode 110 and theinner wall 120 or the cooling plate unit 210 to insulate the electrode110.

Reference numeral 350 denotes a gas outlet and is installed at an upperportion of the deposition chamber 100.

In the surface treatment system of the present invention, two depositionspaces can be formed at the central portion of the deposition chamber.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view showing a surface treatment system inaccordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.4 is a plan view showing a cooling plate unit of the surface treatmentsystem in accordance with the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a surface treatment system in accordance withthe second embodiment of the present invention, in which gas for adeposition reaction is injected into a deposition chamber 600, to whichpower is applied to form deposition reaction to form a deposition layerat the surface of the object to be surface treated 900, includes a gasinjection unit 800 installed at both sides of the deposition chamber 600for injecting gas for a deposition reaction into the deposition chamber600; a gas discharging unit 850 installed at the central portion of thedeposition chamber 600 to form two deposition spaces 630 and dischargingdeposition reaction-finished gas from the deposition chamber 600, aplurality of electrodes 610 installed within each deposition space 630therebetween for applying power into the deposition chamber 600; and acooling unit 700 installed at both sides of the deposition chamber 600for cooling the ambient environment.

Like the first embodiment, the surface treatment system in accordancewith the second embodiment of the present invention is the plasmadeposition reaction as disclosed in PCT publication No. WO9927156, oneof the conventional surface treatment methods.

However, the deposition reaction in the second embodiment of the presentinvention also can be adoptable to a surface treatment system,regardless of types of deposition reaction, in which gas for adeposition reaction is injected into the deposition chamber, to whichpower is applied to cause a deposition reaction to form a depositionlayer at the surface of the object to be surface treated.

The gas injected into the deposition chamber 600 allows a desireddeposition layer to be formed at the object of surface to be treated900, and as the power source, a radio frequency (RF) power source or aDC power source can be used. In addition, power may be applied to theobject to be surface treated according to the deposition reaction. Inparticular, in the case of DC power as the power source, the object ofthe surface treatment may be one of the electrodes with a power applyingdevice (not shown).

As the cooling unit 700, various cooling systems can be adopted, and inthis respect, a water-cooling system is adopted in the second embodimentof the present invention.

That is, the cooling unit 700 includes a cooling plate unit 710installed at the inner wall 620 of the deposition chamber 600; aheat-releasing unit 720 for releasing heat generated in the depositionchamber 600, and passages 730 a and 730 b connecting the cooling plateunit 710 and the heat-releasing unit 720.

The cooling plate unit 710 includes a refrigerant passage 711 formed tolet refrigerant, i.e. water to flow therein, a refrigerant inlet 712 forintroducing the refrigerant into the refrigerant passage 711, and arefrigerant outlet 713 for discharging the refrigerant from therefrigerant passage 711.

The cooling plate unit 710, formed in a platy shape, can be separatelyinstalled inside the deposition chamber 600 or can be formed integrallywith the inner wall 620 of the deposition chamber 600.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cooling plate unit 710 includes a plurality ofslots 714. The slot 714 may have a gas injection unit 800 with gasinjection holes 810 therein.

The refrigerant inlet 712 and the refrigerant outlet 713 are connectedby the heat-releasing unit 720 for releasing heat generated from thedeposition chamber 600 and the passages 730 a and 730 b.

There are provided one or more electrodes 610, which are fixedlyinstalled at the inner wall 620, at the cooling plate unit 710 or at thegas discharge unit 850 of the deposition chamber 600 by means of anengaging unit (not shown). Insulation members 611 and 612 are interposedbetween the electrode 610 and the inner wall 620, the cooling plate unit710 or the gas discharge unit 850, for insulation of the electrode 610.

The operation of the surface treatment system in accordance with thefirst and second embodiment of the present invention will now bedescribed.

First, the object to be surface treated 900 is provided in thedeposition chambers 100 and 600 through an open and shut unit (notshown) of the deposition chambers 100 and 600 by means of a conveyingunit (not shown).

After the object to be surface treated 900 is conveyed into thedeposition chambers 100 and 600, the open and shut unit (not shown)closes and seals the deposition chambers 100 and 600, and then a gas forthe deposition reaction is injected into the deposition chambers 100 and600 through the gas injection units 300 and 800.

With gas being injected, power is applied to the deposition chambers 100and 600 through electrodes 110 and 610, or to the object to be surfacetreated 900, whereby the deposition reaction takes place to form adeposition layer at the surface of the object 900. At this time, thedeposition reaction-depleted gas is discharged outwardly through the gasoutlets 350 and 850.

The surface of the object 900 has the deposition layer formed thereonand after the deposition reaction, the spent gas is discharged outwardlythrough the open and shut unit (not shown) by means of the convey unit(not shown).

Meanwhile, in the deposition chambers 100 and 600, as the depositionreaction takes place, each of the cooling units 200 and 700 starts itsoperation under the control of control units 250 and 750, respectively,to cool the ambient of the cooling plate units 210 and 710.

A strong electric field is generated around the electrodes 110 and 610according to the power supplied thereto to form the deposition reaction,such as a plasma deposition reaction. The distance from each electrode110 and the temperature determine the direction of the depositionreaction.

Therefore, in fabricating the deposition chamber 100, a distance (I₁)between the inner wall of the deposition chamber 100 and the electrode110 depends on a distance (I₂) between the object to be surface treated900 and the electrode 110, and in order to surface-process a largerobject of surface treatment, the deposition chamber 100 should beincreased in its size.

In order to avoid such increase of the deposition chamber 100, thesurface treatment system of the present invention includes the coolingunit 200, 700 to cool the ambient environment in order to turn thedirection of the deposition reaction to the object of surface treatment900 and narrow the distance between the inner wall of the depositionchamber 100 and the electrode 110.

In addition, the gas injection unit is also installed together with thecooling unit 200 so that gas is cooled while passing the cooling unitand injected into the deposition chamber 100, thereby dropping down thetemperature between the electrode 110 and the inner wall of thedeposition chamber 100.

As so far described, the surface treatment system of the presentinvention has the following advantages.

By installing the cooling unit at both sides of the deposition chamberto cool the ambient environment, the distance between the electrode andthe inner wall of the deposition chamber is reduced, and thus, a spacetaken up by the deposition chamber can be reduced.

In addition, by installing the gas injection unit together with thecooling unit, a cooling effect to the flow of gas injected into thedeposition space can be increased.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the surface treatment systemand method of the present invention without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present inventioncover modifications and variations of this invention provided they comewithin the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. A surface treatment system for forming a deposition layer at asurface of an object, comprising: a deposition chamber having an innervertical wall; a gas injection unit for injecting a gas for a depositionreaction in the deposition chamber; an electrode unit substantiallyparallel to the inner vertical wall for applying power to form adeposition reaction in the deposition chamber, said electrode unit beinginstalled between the inner vertical wall of the deposition chamber andthe object, a cooling unit adapted to contain a refrigerant and disposedagainst the inner vertical wall of the deposition chamber and adjacentto a side of the electrode for cooling the injected gas with therefrigerant contained within the cooling unit for dropping thetemperature between the inner vertical wall and the electrode unit,wherein the cooling unit includes a cooling plate installed against theinner vertical wall of the deposition chamber, the cooling plateincludes a plurality of slots for receiving the gas injection unit, anda refrigerant passage of the cooling unit extends within the coolingplate and around a periphery of the slots; and a control unit foroperating the cooling unit, wherein the cooling unit further comprises:a heat exchanger operatively connected to the cooling plate forreleasing heat generated in the deposition chamber and absorbed by thecooling plate.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein therefrigerant of the cooling unit is water and further comprising meansfor maintaining the refrigerant at a temperature below a temperature ofthe interior of the deposition chamber.
 3. The system according to claim1, wherein the cooling plate is installed integrally with the inner wallof the deposition chamber and facing the electrode.
 4. The systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising a gas injection unit forinjecting gas for a deposition reaction installed integrally with thecooling plate in the deposition chamber.
 5. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the cooling plate comprises: the refrigerant passagecontaining the refrigerant; a refrigerant inlet through which therefrigerant is introduced into the refrigerant passage; and arefrigerant outlet through which the refrigerant is discharged from therefrigerant passage, the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outletbeing operatively connected to the heat exchanger.
 6. A surfacetreatment system for forming a deposition layer at a surface of anobject, comprising: a deposition chamber having an inner vertical walland a horizontal wall and forming a deposition space; a pair of gasinjection units installed at least two sides of the inner vertical wallof the deposition chamber for injecting gas for a deposition reactionwithin the deposition space; a gas discharge unit disposed at a centerof the horizontal wall of the deposition chamber and dividing thedeposition space into two deposition areas for discharging a depositionreaction-spent gas outwardly away from the deposition chamber; aplurality of electrodes installed within the deposition space adjacentand substantially parallel to the inner vertical wall for applying powerto the deposition chamber; a first cooling unit and a second coolingunit respectively installed against the inner vertical wall at two sidesof the deposition chamber for cooling the ambient and dropping thetemperature between the inner vertical wall and the electrode units,wherein two of the electrodes are positioned to be adjacent to the firstcooling unit and the second cooling unit, respectively; and a controlunit for operating the first and second cooling units, wherein the firstand second cooling units each include: a cooling plate installed againstan inner wall of the deposition chamber; and a heat exchangeroperatively connected to the cooling plate for releasing heat generatedin the deposition chamber and absorbed by the cooling plate.
 7. Thesystem according to claim 6, wherein the cooling plate is installedintegrally with the inner wall of the deposition chamber and in contactwith a side of the respective electrode.
 8. The system according toclaim 6, wherein the gas injection unit is installed integrally with thecooling plate.
 9. The system according to claim 6, wherein the coolingplate comprises: a refrigerant passage containing a refrigerant; arefrigerant inlet through which the refrigerant is introduced into therefrigerant passage; and a refrigerant outlet through which therefrigerant is discharged from the refrigerant passage, the refrigerantinlet and the refrigerant outlet being operatively connected to the heatexchanger.
 10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the coolingplate includes a plurality of slots for receiving the gas injectionunit, and the refrigerant passage extends within the cooling plate andaround a periphery of the slots.
 11. The system according to claim 6,wherein the refrigerant of the cooling unit is water and furthercomprising means for maintaining the refrigerant at a temperature belowa temperature of the interior of the deposition chamber.
 12. A surfacetreatment system for forming a deposition layer at a surface of anobject, comprising: a deposition chamber having an interior innervertical wall; an electrode unit for applying power to form a depositionreaction in the deposition chamber, said electrode unit being installedsubstantially parallel to the inner vertical wall and between the innervertical wall of the deposition chamber and the object, a cooling unitdisposed against the inner wall of the deposition chamber and adjacentto a side of the electrode, said cooling unit cooling the electrode witha refrigerant contained within the cooling unit, wherein the coolingunit further comprises: a cooling plate installed against an inner wallof the deposition chamber; and a heat exchanger operatively connected tothe cooling plate for releasing heat generated in the deposition chamberand absorbed by the cooling plate, wherein the cooling plate includes aplurality of slots, and the refrigerant passage extends within thecooling plate and around a periphery of the slots, a gas injection unitfor injecting gas for a deposition reaction installed in the slots ofthe cooling plate in the deposition chamber, a gas outlet formed in anupper surface of the deposition chamber; and a control unit foroperating the cooling unit, wherein the cooling unit cools the injectedgas for dropping the temperature between the inner vertical wall and theelectrode unit, wherein the refrigerant of the cooling unit is water andfurther comprising means for maintaining the refrigerant at atemperature below a temperature of the interior of the depositionchamber.